Farmers in Argentina began a six-day strike Sept. 3, halting delivery of grain crops and beef and holding public assemblies by the side of roads in several areas around the country. The strike comes after farmer leaders broke off talks… Read moreArgentina: farmers strike again
President Evo Morales said Oct. 4 that he has rejected a request from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to fly over Bolivian territory. “Two days ago I received a letter…asking a government institution for permission to fly over national… Read moreBolivia: Evo bars DEA overflights
In the first six months of 2008, the “desplazados,” or internally displaced persons from Colombia’s conflict, reached a record number of 270,675—about 41% more than the same period in 2007. “The national rate shows an average of 632 desplazados for… Read moreColombia: war refugees reach two-decade peak
“Post-conflict” is a buzz-word these days in Colombia. Since the demobilization of 30,000 paramilitaries, Colombian officials celebrate the country’s “transition”; many Washington policymakers are convinced Colombia is now on the right track. In this phase, there are only “emerging criminal… Read moreColombia: wave of violence and threats against popular leaders
A former paramilitary fighter testified in special judicial proceedings that Colombia’s armed forces chief, Gen. Mario Montoya, delivered weapons to a paramilitary death squad when he was a commander in Medellín, and the Colombian prosecutor general has opened an investigation… Read moreColombian army chief accused of arming paramilitaries
Latin American leaders who came to New York the week of Sept. 22 for the annual opening session of the United Nations General Assembly suggested that the US and European countries should use economic models from the South to resolve… Read moreLatin America: reactions to “giant’s toppling”
According to exit polls, Ecuadoran voters overwhelmingly backed a proposal for a new Constitution in a referendum held Sept. 28. The Santiago Pérez Investigación y Estudios polling firm showed 66.4% of voters supporting the measure, while Cedatos-Gallup put the proportion… Read moreEcuador: easy win for new constitution
Teachers in the central Mexican state of Morelos, on strike since Aug. 13, escalated their tactics on Sept. 22 by blocking access to state government offices in Cuernavaca, the state capital. Gov. Marco Antonio Adame Castillo, of the governing center-right… Read moreMexico: teacher strikes continue
The US government is not currently scheduling any deportations to Haiti, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson Barbara Gonzalez said on Sept. 19. According to Gonzales, federal officials are evaluating conditions in the country, which was hit by four… Read moreHaiti: US holds up deportations
Jury selection began under unusual security measures Sept. 29 in the federal trial of five men accused of planning an attack on Fort Dix, NJ, where reservists are trained for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. The men—all foreign-born Muslims in… Read moreSpecious terror cases in New Jersey, Toronto
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that fighting between the Pakistani military and militants in the autonomous tribal districts on the Afghan border has driven 20,000 to flee as refugees into Afghanistan. The exodus from the Bajaur tribal agency… Read moreRefugees flee Pakistan —for Afghanistan
A car bomb detonated Sept. 30 near a crowded restaurant at lunchtime in central Baghdad’s Karrada district, killing at least four civilians and wounding nine others. Most of the victims were eating lunch on the first day of the five-day… Read moreEid al-Fitr terror in Baghdad
